Passenger numbers are on the rise at South African Airports
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) published the Aviation Barometer which provides an indication of current air travel trends in South Africa. Here are some of the key findings.
The Barometer compared arrivals and departures of the last quarter based on the count of passengers using the network of nine airports owned and managed by ACSA.
Overall passenger increase
Of the 11 million recorded passengers arriving and departing using SA’s main airports, numbers across the nine airports showed a growth of 3% in the fourth quarter of 2017. This is an additional 321 000 since 2016.
International arrivals increased by 3.8%, translating to an additional 57 455 passengers. The total number of international arrivals went up to 1 568 230 passengers. International departures rose by 4.38% with an increase of 66 674 passengers, totaling 1 589 309 passengers.
International Airports around South Africa
Cape Town International Airport achieved continued growth through the peak season. International arrivals went up by 13.85%, and international departures grew by 15.69% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2016.
King Shaka International Airport in KwaZulu Natal also experienced continuous growth in domestic passenger traffic, with arrivals up 5.63% and departures up 6.17% in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Regional arrivals from Southern Africa
Regional (Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland) arrivals increased by 1.70%, totaling 147 132 passengers. Departures also increased slightly by 1.2%, totaling 141 186 passengers.
Overall domestic travel increase
Domestic travel around South Africa showed a steady growth of 2.6% for arrivals and 2.76% for departures in the fourth quarter of 2017.
